Latch



Dec. 26, 1939.

H. E. WOERNLE 2,184,879

I LATCH Filed Maz ch 24, 1939 1N ENTOR.

- 44 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 26, 1939 UNITED STATES FFICE McKinney Manufacturing Company,

Pittsburgh, 'Pa., a. corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 24, 1939, SerialNo. 263,886 5 Claims. (01. 292-75) I This invention relates to latching devices, and more particularly to door latches of the type including a resiliently positioned roller detent. 7

It is the general object of my invention to provide a roller-type door latch which is inexpensive to manufacture, easily installed and adjusted, and which is adapted to give years of satisfactory service with little or no attention.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a detent type door latch in which the detent includes a rollerwhich is resiliently and 'adjustably carried in the door for cooperation with a jamb plate.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a simplified but sturdy and long-lived latching device that is noiseless in operation.

The foregoing and other objects of my invention are achieved by the provision of a latch comprising a face plate, a detent, means mountshown in association with a door jamb and jamb plate. This View is taken on line I-I of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken on line IIII of Fig. 1; and Fig-3' is a perspective view of my improved latch shown in conjunction with a complementary'jamb plate.

- vice includes a face plate 16 adapted to be se- In the drawing the numeral I 0 indicatesgenerally a door adapted to be swungabouta pivot with respect to a door jamb, indicated as a who-1e by the numeral E2. The .door [0 is provided with a recess M which receives my improved latching device. Particularly, my improved latchingdeillustrated in Fig. l.

and extending along the face plate It. To this end the rubber roller 26 is formed with a metal bushing 28 which rotatably receives a pin 30 shown in Figs. 1 and 3, extend so that their axes 15 .are normalto the face plate It. However, the cap screws 38 do not engage with the'face plate [6 but have their heads substantially flush with the face plate and received in openings 40 in the face plate which are larger than the heads of-gu the cap screws. This construction allows for the ready adjustment of the cap screws with a screwdriver when thedoor is open and yet the' cap screwsare not connected to the face plate except in that the faceplate may provide some rotat-r25 able support for the screws which prevents them from being canted.

Ears 42 are either formed integral with or secured to the uuper and lower sides of the back end of the box 22 and these ears are appropriatelylmo apertured to slidably and rotatably surround the cap screws 38. A coiled compression spring is carried on each cap screw 38 between the ears 42 and the lugs 34. Coiled compression springs 4'6 are carried on the cap screws 38 between the r-'3 ears-i2 and the heads of the cap screws.

A jamb plate secured to the door jamb l2, as by suitable screws 52, is formed with a beveled edge Mfand'an appropriate recess 56 adapted to receive'the rubber roller 26 to achieve the io latching action of the apparatus.

It is believed that the operation of my new and useful'latch will be evident from the foregoing description. -Ho.wever, briefly reviewing this operation, it will be recognized that as theA-S door Ill is swung to a closed position the rubber roller 26 first strikes the beveled edge 5d of the jamb plate 50 and the continued closing of the door is cushioned by the yielding of the rubber of the roller and by the whole block 24 carryinge'so the roller being slid backwardly in the box 22 to compress springs 46. In this connection it will be noted that the block 24, and thus the rubber roller 26, is positioned with respect to the face plate l6 by the cars 42 and the compression springs A l and at. In other words, the block 24 is resiliently mounted with respect to the face plate It so that the block can be moved backwardly of the face plate by compressing the springs 46 and forwardly of the face plate by compressing the springs 44.

The continued closing movement of the door .brings the rubber roller 26 into the recess 56 formed in the jamb plate 50. In this position of the parts the resiliency of the: rubber roller 2% and the springs 45 holds the door in a latched position. However, suflicient force tending to open the door causes the rubber roller 25 to be compressed and the block 24 to move backwardly of the face plate to compress springs 45 further and thereby allows the door to be opened, at which time the roller 26 rolls out of the recess 55 in the door jamb 5%.

An important part of my improved latch is the provision of adjusting means for changing the outward position of the rubber roller 26. This is achieved by the mechanism already described. Particularly, tightening the cap screws 88 into the tapped openings 36 in the lugs 34 formed on the block 2 3 compresses both the springs 44 and the springs 46. Inasmuch as the ears 42 are fixed relative to the face plate, the tightening or screwing in of the cap screws 38 thus moves the block 24 and the rubber roller 2'8 outwardly of the door If! in a direction normal to the face plate l6. Loosening of the cap screws 38 loosens the compression on the springs 44 and 46 which, however, move the block 24 and roller 26 away from the face plate it. In this manner any desired adjusted position of the rubber roller 26 with respect to the face plate It can be obtained and simultaneously the force of the resilient means positioning the rubber roller is changed. It will be seen that the compression on springs 44 and 45 is much higher when the rubber roller 26 is adjusted to an outermost position than when the rubber roller 26 is in an inner or backward position.

From the foregoing it will be recognized that the objects of my invention have been achieved by the provision of an improved latch structure, and particularly a roller latch in which the roller is resiliently positioned for either movement inwardly or outwardly of the face plate, and that the initial position of the roller,as well as the force of the resilient positioning means, can be readily altered. My improved latching device is relatively simple to manufacture but is capable of successful operation over long periods in substantially any detent latching relation. My improved latch is noiseless in operation and provides many of the features of a door-cushioning means.

While in accordance with the patent statutes I have particularly illustrated and described one embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that my invention is not limited thereto or thereby but is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A spring latch comprising a face plate, a block slidably carried by the face plate for movement normal to and-through the face plate, a latch carried by the block, screws threaded into the block and operable through the face plate, means rigidly fixed relative to the face plate and positioned in spaced but substantially parallel relation therewith and rotatably and slidably receiving the screws, and resilient means positioned between the last-named means and the block and between the last-named means and the heads of the screws.

2. A spring latch comprising a face plate, a block slidably carried by the face plate for move ment normal to and through the face plate, a roller latch carried by the block, screws threaded into the block and operable through the face plate, means rigidly fixed relative to the face plate and positioned in spaced but substantially parallel relation therewith and rotatably and slidably receiving the screws, and resilient means positioned between the last-named means and the block and between the last-named means and the heads of the screws.

3. A roller latch comprising a face plate having a latch opening therethrough, a box formed integrally with the face plate and surrounding the latch opening on the back side of the face plate, a block slidably received in the box, a rubber roller latch rotatably carried by the block, laterally extending lugs formed on the top and bottom of the back side of the block, a cap screw threaded into a suitably tapped opening in each lug and having its head rotatably supported in an opening in the face plate, the opening in the face plate allowing axial movement of the screw either direction through the opening in the face plate, ears formed integrally with the top and bottom of the back of the box, each ear having an opening rotatably and slidably receiving the adjacent screw, and coiled compression springs surrounding each screw and carried be tween each ear and the head of the screw and between each ear and each lug.

4. A roller latch comprising a face plate having a latch opening therethrough, a box associated with the faceplate and surrounding the latch opening on the back side of the face plate, a block slidably received in the box, a rubber roller latch rotatably carried by the block, laterally extending lugs associated with the top and bottom of the back side of the block, a cap screw threaded into a suitably tapped opening in each lug and having its head positioned adjacent an opening in the face plate, the opening in the face plate allowing axial movement of the screw in either direction through the opening in the face plate, ears associated with the top and bottom of the back of the box, each ear having an opening rotatably and slidably receiving the adjacent screw, and resilient means carried between each ear and the head of each screw and between each ear and each lug.

5. A roller latch comprising a face plate having a latch opening therethrough, a box associated with the face plate and surrounding the latch opening on the back side of the face plate, a block slidably received in the box, a detent carried by the block, laterally extending lugs associated screw and between each ear and each lug.

HARRY E. WOERNLE. 

